Absence of Red
by ReNeOed
Summary: A story in which Harry sits alone on his first ride to Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione become closer than they are in canon. Primarily focused on their friendship (romance much later on), and the absence of Ron in it. Heavily features the Grangers.
1. No Ron

1\. No Ron

* * *

 **Disclaimer:**

I don't own Harry Potter. I am not making any money from this.

* * *

"Have you seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the bushy-haired girl asked.

"No, sorry," Harry said apologetically.

"Are all those sweets for you alone?" She asked, looking at the pile sitting beside him.

"Would you like to have some? I thought I would try them all and I bought too much," Harry told the two of them, holding out a pasty to the girl.

"You shouldn't eat so many, you know. They're really bad for your teeth."

"I know," said Harry, wanting to defend himself for his stupidity, "I just saw them all for the first time and they looked very interesting, but I have too much now. Would you like a pasty?" Harry asked, now directing his question to the toadless boy who looked at the girl for direction, and then asked, "Can I?"

The girl nodded at Neville and went and sat beside Harry, on the other side of all the sweets and proceeded to look at the packaging of them all. Neville sat opposite them after taking the pumpkin pasty being offered by Harry.

"What are these?" Hermione asked Harry quietly, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs, "they can't really be frogs, can they?" Harry just shrugged in response.

Neville saw them talking, and decided to focus entirely on his pasty.

"May I open this?"

"Go on."

The girl unwrapped one and took out a card. Harry leaned over to see what it was.

"So this is Dumbledore."

The girl turned the card and quickly read it out loud. When she turned it back over, they both saw, to their astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"He's gone!"

"Yes, it mentioned in Hogwarts a History that the people in all the paintings in Hogwarts can move from their paintings as well. But this is the first time I've seen one as well. Oh look, he's back." They both stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture and gave the girl a small smile. Both of them simultaneously went for another frog, the previous one remaining uneaten.

The two of them opened up all of the packs to get all the cards they could, reading together about the famous wizards and witches.

Finally, after reading all the cards they had, Harry looked at all the uneaten frogs they had and offered one to Hermione.

"No, I don't eat sweets. But thanks for offering," the girl said, "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentienth Century.

"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Anyway, do you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. … Anyway, thanks for letting me read all those cards but we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

"Thanks for keeping me company," Harry told her with a smile. Neville also thanked him before following her outside.

* * *

"You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Don't say anything," she whispered, "he would just take more points off."

As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Hermione tried to cheer him up, "Don't worry. It was not your fault. He was completely unfair. What a horrible person! But forget about him. Let's go and meet Hagrid. I can come with you, right?"

* * *

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizards duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he knows what it is," the red haired first year in their house came up and told Malfoy.

"No, I don't know. What is it?" Harry asked Malfoy honestly, after looking sideways at Hermione to see if she knew what the blonde kid was talking about.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because you want one with Harry," Hermione answered snarkily.

"Don't worry. I'll tell him. And I'll be his second. We accept," the red haired kid told Malfoy, making Harry hold back Hermione to prevent her from shouting at him.

"Okay, midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room. That's always unlocked."

When Malfoy had gone, Harry set Hermione loose.

"What makes you think you can go and accept fights on Harry's behalf?"

The Weasley kid looked at Hermione and told him, "Go away, it's none of your business."

"And it's really none of your business either," Harry announced.

"But I'm your second", he pleaded.

"No, he's not," Hermione said, looking at Harry.

"Why? Are you going to be his second, then? You don't even know what a wizard's duel is."

Harry covered his eyes with his hands and walked away slowly.

* * *

"That's a broomstick," Malfoy said, throwing the package back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

"Ok," Harry said and turned away, smirking when he heard Malfoy's huffed "I'll show you" from behind.

"Professor, professor, Potter's been sent a broomstick," said Malfoy to Professor Flitwick who arrived with Hermione behind them.

Harry stopped and turned towards the tiny professor who was beaming at him. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.

Harry headed upstairs, smothering his laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. Hermione followed behind, not looking particularly happy with him.

"What? It's true, if he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team."

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" Hermione asked him angrily.

"What? No. I just wanted to help Neville. Why are you getting angry?"

"You shouldn't have got it," Hermione said as she stomped up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.

"Well, what do you want me to do? Give it back? Professor McGonagall gave this to me."

After a long moment, Hermione said, "You got it for doing something incredibly dangerous. So I don't think you deserved getting an expensive broom instead of a punishment."

"Oh! Right," Harry told her angrily, "Well I'm very sorry that I wasn't expelled. Okay? Good-bye!"

* * *

"Oh, well done! Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" said Professor Flitwick, clapping.

After the class, Harry heard Ron say, "It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face – and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"I think she heard you," he heard Seamus say.

"So? She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Harry was horrified. But as much as he hated Ron at that moment, he fought down the urge to argue with him as he couldn't even call himself a friend of Hermione's anymore.

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On his way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry overheard Parvati telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in a girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone.

Harry decided to go to the bathroom to check on her before going to the feast.

Harry called out Hermione's name from outside instead of peeking in. He heard perhaps the softest version of her voice he had heard yet say, "Go away."

"Come on out now. The feast is starting."

"No. You go. Just leave me alone."

Harry resisted the urge to do what she was asking of him. "What are you even doing in there?"

She didn't reply.

"Hermione! … Forget about what Ron said. It isn't true. Come out. Please."

"Stop lying. You think I'm a nightmare too, don't you?"

"Of course not."

"Just leave me alone. You have for the last month. Why are you talking to me now?"

"Hermione! …" Harry didn't quite know what to say.

"I don't think you're a nightmare at all. You're a hundred times better person than that idiot Ron. … I'm sorry I ignored you. I was just mad about the things you said about my broomstick."

"But you never even let me explain it to you. I didn't want you to be expelled."

"I know."

"I just wanted you to have a detention, nothing more than that."

That made Harry laugh. And he heard Hermione chuckling inside as well.

"Well, I'm sorry I ignored you. I wasn't that mad at you. But now, please come out. The feast must have started already."

"You go, I'll be there later, don't worry," he heard from inside.

Suddenly a foul stench reached Harry's nostrils, and he heard a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet.

Then he saw it, at the end of the corridor to his left, something huge was rounding the corner. Harry quickly hid behind the door and watched.

It was a horrible sight. Harry wasn't sure what it was, but he quickly went up to Hermione and hissed, "Come on. We have to run."

"What are you doing? I said I'll go later," she said, backing away from him.

"No, no. I think there's a troll outside. Come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door and they both peeked out. The troll was coming right towards them. Harry looked at Hermione. She looked like she was about to faint.

"Hermione! Come on, run run run."

Harry risked a look behind them as they ran. The troll was stupidly alternating between staring at them and the doorway.

He and Hermione just ran towards the Great Hall without stopping. There were different groups of people hurrying in different directions. They jostled their way to the entrance where they found Professor McGonagall, who looked at them and sternly asked, "Miss Granger, Mister Potter, why are you not with the rest of your house?"

"Professor, there's a troll." Harry told her between gasps.

"Yes, I am well aware of that. And that is why you should be heading to your common room."

"Professor, there's a troll _there_ ," Harry told her, pointing towards the girls' bathroom they had just come from, "in the corridor outside the girls' bathroom."

"PROFESSOR QUIRRELL! Come quickly. You two, stay here."

Many students around them turned to stare as Professor McGonagall hurried past them. Quirrell followed a few feet behind her.

Suddenly, they all heard a loud howl followed a few seconds later by thud that made the floor tremble.

Many students started to go in that direction. Harry started to, but was held back by Hermione's pleading voice saying his name.

"Harry!"

"What? Oh, right, sorry, I forgot," Harry said, coming back to stand beside her, quelling the urge to go see the mangled remains of the troll, "But maybe she only meant, stay here till we take down the troll. I mean, we'll only be going towards her."

"Please," she said in the same soft voice that was so unlike her.

"Okay, okay, don't worry."

She looked at him in a funny way, and said, "Thank you!" But after a few seconds, she looked like she was going to cry.

"Ummm, are you okay?" Harry asked pensively.

"Mhm," Hermione said, now looking on the verge of tears.

Harry nodded, feeling awkward standing beside her, not knowing what to do. There were very few students standing around them, but he felt incredibly weird whenever anyone of them glanced at the two of them. Soon, McGonagall reached them, telling all the students she came across to get to their respective common rooms.

Upon reaching them, she asked Hermione, "Miss Granger, are you hurt?"

Hermione shook her head, bringing a hand up to wipe the moisture from her eyes.

"How did you two know where the troll was?"

"I was in the bathroom and Harry came to get me, and then he wouldn't go away,"

"Mister Potter!"

"No, no, not like that. He just wanted me to come to the feast," Hermione defended him.

"But then, he came inside and made me run out and the troll was right behind us. So we ran to get you."

"You weren't here at the feast when Professor Quirrell came in?" She asked Harry.

"No ma'am."

"Well – in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the two of them, "you each win ten points for coming to me. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their Houses."

* * *

"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry ignored them. After the class, Hermione asked him, "Is it true? Do your family not want you at home?"

"Uhhh… Yes, but don't worry. I don't want to want to go home either."

"Oh!" Hermione was scared of the thought of Harry spending the Christmas holidays alone with only the Weasleys as company. She knew Harry didn't hate her, and didn't like Ron, but who knew what would happen if they only had each other for company in the holidays. Ron's idiocy might be contagious. And part of her was sure that Ron would try to set Harry against her. It was a silly thought, but also a scary one. She had written to her parents to ask them for permission to ask Harry to stay with them. She didn't know if her parents would be comfortable with a boy staying over. And she didn't want to give Harry false hope. It had been many days since she had sent her letter with Hedwig, but perhaps due to the horrible weather, she had never received a reply.

"Harry, what will you do during the holidays?"

"I don't know. Uh, you aren't going to ask me to utilize my time in the library, are you?" Harry asked, only half-joking.

"No… It's just… Hedwig hasn't come back yet, has she?"

"No, I hope she's okay. Maybe she'll come today. It doesn't seem as bad outside, right?"

Hermione dearly hoped so.

Hedwig didn't show up that evening. Hermione decided to just take a chance. "Harry", she asked him that evening in the common room, "would you like to come to my home for Christmas?"

"What? Really?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I'm asking you so late. I asked my parents if they were okay with you staying at our home in my last letter, but Hedwig hasn't come back yet but I'm sure they would be completely okay with you staying with us. I don't want you to be alone here. So I would love it if you would come with me tomorrow."

"But I already entered my name in the list."

"I already asked Professor McGonagall. She says it's no problem. We can still ask her to take it off."

After a few seconds, Harry asked, "Are you sure your parents would be okay with me staying?"

"Yes, yes. I mean, I'm just 12," she said with a blush, "and you're my best friend."

"You're 12? But then, you didn't tell me about your birthday?"

"Yes, my birthday was in September. I didn't want to make a scene of it."

"What? Hermione! I should've gotten you a gift. I didn't even wish you. When was it?"

"September 19, but don't worry about it. I don't care. Just tell me, will you come?"

"Of course, I would love to. But only if you're sure it's okay."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure. … Do you need any help with packing?"

"No, no, don't worry. But listen, maybe, I shouldn't come if Hedwig doesn't show up. I mean, what if you take me and your parents really don't want me there? I don't want to have to go to the Dursleys."

"Harry, trust me. They would love to have you."

"... Well okay, hah. I'll go and tell Professor McGonagall then. But maybe, we should at least wait till tomorrow morning. Maybe Hedwig will come by then."

Hermione just stood up and took her book in one hand and his arm in the other and started walking him out.

"Okay, okay, fine, haha."

* * *

The next morning, Hedwig did show up, but fortunately, Hermione's parents were perfectly fine with Harry coming.

The train ride back was quite pleasant. Harry and Hermione spent a lot of time staring out of the window of their compartment. Hermione told him some stories from her childhood, of her trips with her parents to some other countries.

"Have you ever been out of the country?"

"No. I've never been, well, anywhere really. I've only visited London and the zoo and Hogwarts, and we recently went to a lighthouse near… I don't even know where it was, but yeah, that's it."

"Why not?" Hermione asked reservedly.

"The Dursleys just used to leave me with someone else, Aunt Marge or Mrs. Figg. It's no big deal. I wouldn't want to travel with them anyway."

"Why do they treat you like that?"

"They just don't like magic, I guess. And they always knew that I was a wizard. I don't know. But it will be better with them from now on. Now that I have my wand."

"But you can't use magic outside school. You'll be expelled."

"Yes, but they don't know that."

"Oh! Okay, well, right. Tell me, did you ever do some accidental magic?"

"Yes, sometimes. Well, okay my hair, it never gets shorter than this. No matter how many times I went to the barber, after a few hours they would be back to the same length, so one time, Aunt Petunia she cut almost all of my hair except just a little bit here," Harry said, pointing to a spot above his scar.

"That's so horrible."

"I know, but it was okay because the next morning, they were again the same as before."

"How did your aunt react?"

"She locked me in the cupboard for a week."

"WHAT? What did you say?"

Harry looked genuinely scared for a moment.

"They locked you in a cupboard for a week?"

"No, no, I mean, they let me out to go to the bathroom and the kitchen. Oh wait, you misunderstood, it's not like, a cupboard in their room. No, no, the cupboard under the stairs, it was my room."

"Your room… Is a cupboard?"

"Well, now they gave me Dudley's second room. So, not anymore. But calm down, don't worry about it. Anyway, okay, there was this one time, just this year, in fact, it was this year, it was Dudley's birthday, and they couldn't leave me with anyone else because Mrs. Figg broke her leg and had to cancel at the last minute, so I got to go to the zoo for the first time. So, there was this reptile house. And the largest snake in the place, it was so massive it could have wrapped itself around a car. And it was sleeping and then it woke up, and it winked at me."

"What, really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, but, what happened was, I was talking to it and -"

"You were talking to it?"

"Yeah, it was weird. Like, I said to it that it must be really annoying having visitors rap on the glass repeatedly, trying to make it do stuff, and it nodded, like that."

"Oh, ok!" said Hermione, deciding Harry must be exaggerating for his story.

"But then, Dudley came from behind and punched me aside. And he and his friend, Piers, were leaning against the glass, but then the glass completely vanished."

"Woah."

"And then all the people were screaming and running for the exits. And everyone was confused. Where did the glass go? Now I know, of course, but then I didn't. And the snake slid by me and I thought it talked to me again. I remember, it said, 'Brazil, here I come. … Thanks, amigo.'"

"It actually talked to you?" Hermione asked, looking a bit shocked.

"Well, I could've just imagined it. It is kind of stupid."

"No, no, actually some wizards, they supposedly can speak to snakes."

"Really?"

"Yes, they're called Parselmouths. Salazar Slytherin was one. They're supposed to be incredibly rare."

"Oh. Ok. Wow. Maybe I did talk to it then."

"And then?"

"Then, Piers told Uncle Vernon that I had been talking to the snake, so he locked me in the cupboard again."

"Harry, they're so horrible to you."

"Well, he didn't actually lock me inside. He just told me to stay inside. I could still go to the bathroom and sneak out for food."

"You had to sneak out for food?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, he was really mad."

"They're terrible. Why do you have to stay with them? Don't you have any other relatives beside them?"

"No. I don't have anywhere else to go to. When I was younger, I dreamed of some unknown relative coming to take me away, you know, but of course it never happened. But it won't be as bad anymore."

"Harry, you have me. We'll talk to my parents, okay? Maybe you could stay with us in the summer as well."

"No, don't."

"Harry, I couldn't live with myself if I knew you were staying with those horrible people."

"I told you, it won't be that bad."

"But still, what if they find out that you can't use magic? They will be even worse then, won't they?"

"Yeah, but … I'm not your parents' responsibility. Maybe I can just spend most of my time in The Leaky Cauldron, or somewhere else. I don't know. I don't want to be a burden to your family."

"Harry, you won't be a burden to them. At all. Really. We have some extra rooms in our house. And we rarely have any guests. And besides, they're always saying they're sorry they have to leave me alone at home to go to work. This way, I'll have you and I'll never be alone," she finished, a cute blush developing on her cheeks when she realised what she had just said.

"I don't know, Hermione."

"You'll see. And besides, then, we could study for our next year together. It'll be great."

* * *

 **A/N** : This is going to be a fic completely focused on Harry and Hermione, no Ron. Just friendship for now. Romance much later on. Hope you like it.


	2. Aragorn

2\. Aragorn

* * *

"Hello hello hello!" Hermione's mother squealed, bending down to tightly hug her daughter who then moved from her mother's grasp to her father's.

"And you must be Harry," Hermione's mother said, extending her hand to shake Harry's.

"Yes ma'am. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me stay."

"It's our pleasure, really. Come on," she said, reaching for Harry's trunk.

"Oh no, ma'am. I can take care of it."

"Sure?"

"Yes ma'am. … Good evening, Mr. Granger, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me stay at your home," said Harry, letting go of his trunk to shake the man's hand.

"Hello, good to meet you too," Mr. Granger said and then grabbed Hermione's trunk in one hand and put the other on his daughter's shoulder.

"I didn't prepare anything at home, because I thought you might want to eat out? Is that okay? How about Berners?" Mrs. Granger asked the two of them as they sat inside the car.

"Do you want to go?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Sure, whatever you want," said Harry.

"Well then sure, mum."

"Alright… So, Hermione, how is Hogwarts?"

"Amazing! It is a lot like a castle in a fairy tale, only with teachers and students running around, and ghosts floating around, and talking paintings, and moving staircases. It's like, everything inside has a mind of its own. There are even some doors which don't open if you don't ask them politely."

"Huh? How does that work?"

"I have no idea. Put your seat belt on," Hermione said, nudging Harry's leg with her foot.

"And how have your classes been going?"

"Good."

"Good? Mrs. Granger, she is by far the best student in all of Hogwarts."

"No, I'm not, mum."

"Yes, you are. Really, Mrs. Granger, Hermione is amazing."

"Aw, thank you Harry, we're really proud of her as well. What about you? How do you like your classes?"

"I like most of them, just except Potions and History, and Astronomy's kinda boring, but I love Charms and Transfiguration, and Defence seems quite interesting, though the professor isn't that interesting."

"And you also play sports, right?"

"Quidditch, yes ma'am. I just started a few months ago. It's really fun."

"Fun? You almost died," Hermione said.

"What? How?" Mr. Granger asked, while Mrs. Granger completely turned back in her seat.

"I didn't almost die. It's just, the sport is played quite high, on flying broomsticks, you know, and I almost fell twice in my first match but I hung on both times. So I wasn't hurt at all."

"Are you sure you should be still playing such a dangerous sport, though? I mean, if you just started flying."

"Well…" Harry tried to think of something to say.

"Mum, it's not that he almost fell because he was bad at it. It was something else. Actually, he's been playing for only two months but he's already considered to be among the best fliers in Hogwarts."

"Really? That's very good."

"Yes, the first time he got on a broom, he impressed our Head of House so much she put him on the most important position in the team. The first time he ever got on a broom! It was dangerous, but also quite amazing. He's actually the youngest player at Hogwarts in a century."

"Wow!"

"I was just lucky. I should've been punished because of the way I flew. The instructor had to take another student to the Hospital Wing and told us to stay on the ground, but I flew and Professor McGonagall saw me. But she said, that I wouldn't be punished if I worked hard enough on the team. And I may not be that good. I've only played one match."

"Well, that's still excellent, Harry, other than the rule-breaking, I guess. So… What else have you two got to tell us?"

Hermione looked at Harry pensively, but then decided to take up his home issues some other time and started to talk about the architecture of Hogwarts.

"- and it is really really huge. I mean, we've been there for almost four months and yet, there is so much we haven't seen yet. And the dormitories are very well placed, I mean, I don't know why, but you just don't ever stumble upon a dorm, right Harry?"

"Yes, I don't know of anyone other than the Weasley twins who know where the other dorms are. And I don't think even they know where the Slytherins live."

"Yes, it's really well designed. But our common room is really brilliant."

"Yes, yes, you said it's very comfy." Hermione's mum told her daughter.

"Mhm! Oh, by the way, have you ever had pumpkin juice?"

"Pumpkin juice?" asked her father in an incredulous tone.

"No, I don't think I've ever even heard of it," said her mother.

"Well, it's very common in Hogwarts. It's weird. But it tastest okay."

"I like it."

"Harry just loooves the food there, right?" asked Hermione, nudging his arm with her hand. Harry nodded vigorously in response.

"And you, honey?"

"I like it too."

"Is the cooking done our way or is that done magically too?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a few moments before Hermione answered, "I don't know, actually. The food does appear on the tables magically, at least during the feasts but I don't know how it's cooked. We'll have to see when we go back."

* * *

"How did you like that, Harry?"

"That was great. Thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it."

"It was even better than Hogwarts. And it was so pretty."

"Yes, Hermione loves it as well. Actually, we'll be coming back to London in a few days. Maybe we can eat here again," suggested Hermione's dad.

"No, no, we'll go to Sweetings. And Creams Cafe. They're so good," Hermione told Harry who was looking wide-eyed at her, surprised at seeing her so excited.

"Okay."

"Alright, now off to home?" Mrs. Granger turned in her seat to ask Hermione.

"Ahaan ahaan!" Hermione said, nodding her head as she said it, making Harry laugh.

"What?" Hermione asked him.

"It's fun to see you like this."

She thanked him with a grin and then calming down a little said, "Put your seat belt on."

"Well, here we go," said Hermione's dad as he pulled up in front of a closed garage.

Harry, Hermione and Mrs. Granger got out of the car and Hermione quickly went up to the garage door to open it, cutely curtsying as her dad passed her in the car. Mr. Granger came up to the back and unloaded Harry and Hermione's trunks. Harry and Mr. Granger took the trunks inside. Mrs. Granger ruffled Harry's hair as he entered the house.

"Harry, leave your trunk here, I'll carry it upstairs later," Mr. Granger said as he carried Hermione's upstairs.

"No no, that's okay, Mr. Granger," said Harry, trying to pick up his trunk as well.

"Ohooo," said Mrs. Granger, coming up behind him and putting her hands on his shoulder, "leave it, we don't want you to hurt yourself. Now come on."

She walked him to the right of the stairs and into a large living room where Hermione was already comfortably resting on a sofa.

"It is so good to be home," she told her mum.

"Do you two want something to drink? Milk? Harry, you want some too?"

"If it's no trouble," said Harry quietly, looking up and behind at Hermione's mum's face.

"Of course not," she said, patting his shoulder as she went past a dining table into the kitchen. "Do you two want to rest now? I'll bring it up to your rooms."

"Nah, it's okay. We slept on the train," Hermione answered, patting the sofa, inviting Harry to sit beside her, before asking, "Or do you want to go to sleep?"

"Nah, I can stay up a little longer."

"Ok," Hermione got up to pick up the remote and then came back to sit beside Harry.

"Oh look. It's Batman!"

"Hey, you're in my seat," Hermione's dad said to her when he entered the living room, then picked her up and plopped her down in his lap. Harry looked away as he hugged Hermione tightly from behind.

"What are you watching? Batman? Hermione, you're watching Batman?"

"No, no," said Hermione, quickly changing the channel, "we switched the TV on, and that was what came up."

"Awww. Well, put it back on. I'm sure Harry wants to see it. You've read his comics, right?" He asked Harry who shook his head.

"Really? Nah! You're just saying that to impress Hermione, aren't you?" He asked with a grin.

"Daddy! Don't."

"Haha, I'm just kidding, kiddo. Though I've got a pretty good collection. So if you want to read any, feel free to ask me, okay?"

"I would love to, sir," Harry said.

"Oh great, well, who's your favorite superhero?"

"Uhhh…" Harry thought about it and quickly made a decision, "Superman, I guess?"

"Oh, I've got a lot of him. Oh, I know. How about Man of Steel? You'll love it."

"Dad, don't give Harry your bad habits."

"It's not a bad habit at all. And I'm not forcing him. Just because you don't want to read comics doesn't mean he doesn't want to. Right?"

"I actually have wanted to read them for a long time, just couldn't."

"Well, I'm glad Hermione brought you here, then. Oh my god. That's so cool," Hermione's dad said, hugging Hermione again as he looked at the batmobile on TV.

"Harry, do you want Bournvita in your milk?" came Mrs. Granger's voice from the kitchen.

"No, just plain milk is fine, Mrs. Granger, with sugar."

"Here you go then," she said, handing him a mug with Bugs Bunny on it and then handed a Tweety one to Hermione.

"Oh god! Not this again. Give me the remote."

* * *

"Ready for bed?" Mr. Granger asked Harry who nodded through his yawn.

"You too?" He then asked the girl lying back on his chest.

"Mhm," Hermione said as she got up.

"Well, good night, sweetie, see you in the morning," Hermione's mum said, kissing her daughter goodnight.

"There's the bathroom and you saw the one downstairs, and this room is Hermione's, this one's yours. Ok? We'll be downstairs, opposite the living room but don't worry about waking us up if you need anything."

"No, that's fine, sir," Harry quickly said.

"Alright, wait, I'll get you two some water for the night."

After checking out his room, Harry went into the adjoining one to find Hermione sprawled on her bed, seemingly enjoying breathing in the air of her room.

"Aren't you going to change?"

Hermione sat up with a sigh and then grinned at Harry. "You like your room?"

"Yeah! It's massive." After looking around a bit, he asked, "is it even bigger than yours?"

"Yes, that used to be mum and dad's room, and grandma used to live in the downstairs one, because, you know, stairs, but then she died three years ago,"

"I'm sorry!"

"It's ok, and anyway, then they changed rooms and went downstairs after some time. Because dad is so lazy he didn't like coming up the stairs again and again."

"I am NOT that lazy," Mr. Granger said, coming and placing a filled bottle of water on Hermione's bedside table, "just look at how many times I came up and down in the last few minutes, and I even brought both your heavy trunks up. Tell her, Harry."

"Uh, well, it is true, Hermione. He doesn't seem so lazy."

"Hah, well you'll see, there's no way Dad can keep this façade up for a week."

"Ehhh, maybe you're right. Haha. Well, weren't you two sleepy? Go to sleep. Now. After changing. After we leave. You too Harry. But in your own room. Well ok then. Good night."

* * *

"Good morning!" Hermione chirped as he walked into the living room.

"Morning!"

"Do you want some tea?" Hermione asked, getting up and moving into the kitchen.

Harry followed and saw Hermione reaching up to get a kettle.

"Oh, you don't have to make any."

"No no, I want some too. I was just waiting for you to get up."

"Oh ok," Harry said, awkwardly standing beside her as he watched her. "Your parents at work?"

"Yes. Dad said he will be back by noon though and take us shopping."

"Oh!"

"It's okay," said Hermione, looking at Harry's surprised face, "you don't have to get us anything. Really."

"But..."

"It's fine! I don't care."

"Can we go to Diagon Alley? Actually, could you ask your dad to just drop me at a train station in London?"

"Harry!"

"No, really, I just need to go to Gringotts first and then I'll be back."

"Harry, don't worry about it, really."

"But I do want to give you gifts."

Hermione laughed and said, "Fine, we can go to Diagon Alley. We were going to anyway, but please don't feel like you have to buy me anything."

"Okay, then I'll just buy something for your parents," said Harry.

"You really don't have to, you know."

"Shut up! And you know what? Get aside. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Yeah, okay, thanks," Hermione said with a little giggle.

* * *

"Hermione, do you like roller coasters?" Harry asked Hermione as they walked into a very busy Gringotts.

Hermione shook her head ferociously, her face showing her terror at the thought of being on one. "That's almost worse than flying. Why?"

"Then I think I should make my way down to my vault alone. Because the ride's pretty bad."

"But I don't want to leave you alone."

"It's fine. Only a few minutes."

"Come on, Hermione. We could at least try going with Harry. It might be fun," Mr. Granger said from behind them.

"Uhhh... Sir, it's actually really bad. She might get sick."

"Dad, leave it."

"But 'Mione! … Fine, but my next trip to Diagon Alley, it'll be just me and Harry."

"We could just bring mum."

"Yes, but then you wouldn't be punished."

"Why do you want to punish me?"

"I wanna go on a roller coaster."

"But I don't."

"Well, there! Punishment. Bam! I win."

Hermione just shook her head.

* * *

"What are you going to name him?"

"How about Gary?" Her dad suggested.

"NO! That's so lame."

"You think Harry's name is lame as well then?"

"No! I just think naming this guy an alphabet away from his is lame, Dad. I want it to be called something cool and unique, like Hedwig."

"Well, I got Hedwig's name from A History of Magic. Maybe you can do something similar."

"Oh, oh, I got one. How about... Boobrie?"

"WHAT?" Hermione asked her dad.

"It's a cool mythological creature in Scotland."

"Even then, no, definitely not! Hmmm… How about… Pegasus? No."

"Tyson?" Harry suggested from the backseat.

"Harry, he's an owl, not a german shepherd," Mr. Granger said.

"I thought it was a cool boy name," Harry muttered.

"Simba?" Hermione's dad asked her with a grin, making her form a little smile on her face as well, before she politely said, "Nice, but no."

"Aladdin?"

"Definitely not."

"David?"

"No."

"Steven?"

"No. You've had enough tries though. Harry, do you have any ideas?"

"Uh, Hiccup?"

"Hiccup! That's cute. But no, I don't think it suits him much."

"Beaky!" Mr. Granger suddenly said.

"No!"

"Notooth!"

"What? No."

"Nasfaratooth?"

"Oh my god dad!"

"Fine, I'll shut up. No, wait, I've got it, Toothless?"

"No thanks."

"What? Why? That one actually was awesome."

"Because you suggested it, okay? Harry, you got something for me?"

"Kumquat?" He asked, making Mr. Granger guffaw.

"What?"

"It's like an orange. I thought it was a great name. But if you don't like it..."

"No I don't like it."

"Well, Harry, if it means anything, I love it."

"Thank you Mr. Granger," Harry said with a laugh.

"You two are awful. But I think I've got it. Ok! ... Aragorn!"

"That sounds so cool!"

"Hermione, you make me so proud of you."

* * *

"Aragorn? Well, hello Aragorn. Oh, he's almost as cute as Hedwig," Mrs. Granger said as she scratched his head.

"Don't let her hear you say that. She might eat him up," Hermione told her mother.

"Haha. Ok, I'll be careful. Who named him? 'Cause I know it couldn't be Chris," she said, "Harry?"

"No, no, it was Hermione. I haven't even read Lord of the Rings."

"You haven't read Lord of the Rings?" asked Hermione shrilly, turning back in her front seat to look at Harry.

"No?" He answered reluctantly.

"Hermione loves those books," Hermione's mum explained Hermione's face to Harry.

"Well, you will too. Forget Superman. We're going to read The Lord of the Rings."

"Oh give the poor guy a break," her dad quickly said from the driving seat.

"But daddy!"

"It's okay. I'll read them later."

"The comics, right?" Hermione asked expectantly.

"Sure!"

"Oh well! It's okay, Harry, you don't have to apologize to me, I don't mind. Anyway, what do we want to do today? Want to go see a movie or something?"

"Harry, have you ever been to a theatre?" Hermione asked Harry who shook his head.

"Really? Never?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"It's decided, then. Which movie though? Hermione, you wanna see The Addams Family?"

"They made a movie for that?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, although I've heard it's… Not that good," Her mum answered.

"Oh! I've got it." Mr. Granger suddenly said, looking triumphant, "Let's go home first and freshen up and then, Harry, get ready for the best two and a half hours of your life."

* * *

"I can't believe you took the kids to a movie like that."

"What are you talking about? That was like the coolest movie of all time."

"But I don't understand. How could they let him die? He was the hero," Harry said, deep in his thoughts.

"Oh, he was a robot," Hermione said quickly from beside him, "and besides, he was from the future, I bet they just killed him off to avoid any paradoxes in the future."

"Oh, don't be so cruel, 'Mione. And don't you dare trivialize his noble sacrifice like that. Look, you're making Harry cry."

"Harry!" both Hermione and Mrs. Granger said worriedly, the latter turning back in her seat and putting a consoling hand on his knee.

"I'm not crying," Harry said, looking out of the window, "I just remembered his hand… You know, at the end, out of the lava. … That was so amazing. Thank you, Mr. Granger. It really was great."

"Thank you," said Mr. Granger, looking sideways at his wife jubilantly.

* * *

 **A/N:**

The characters may seem a bit OOC, but I will try to keep their personalities similar to canon, only how I would imagine them without the influence of Ron. Also, I really don't mean to meaninglessly bash him. I will just try to keep him out of the story, but he might pop in from time to time.

Also, Aragorn is supposed to be an owl, and I've decided to name Hermione's parents Chris and Charlotte. However, I will try to avoid using these names, and instead refer to them in other ways.

Any feedback is dearly appreciated. And thanks for reading!


	3. Christmas Morning

3\. Christmas Morning

* * *

"Should we wake her up?" Mr. Granger asked his wife, the two of them peacefully staring at their sleeping daughter, standing in her room's doorway.

"I don't know, what time is it now?" She whispered back.

"Almost 8," he answered after checking his watch.

She sighed and said, "Let's give her a little more time."

"But it's Christmas morning. How can she still be asleep? And even Harry! When I was a kid, by this time, I would have already had enough of one or two of my gifts," He told her as they went back down the stairs.

After a shake of her head, his wife asked, "You're just mad because you still can't open your own presents, aren't you?"

"Again, it's Christmas morning!"

* * *

"Good morning!" Hermione chirped as she walked into the living room.

"Finally!"

"Finally? Why? What time is it?"

"8:23! Your mother and I have been waiting for you for almost two hours."

"You could have woken me up," she told him, sharing a laugh with her mother who came and gave her a hug.

"Merry Christmas sweetie!"

"Merry Christmas mum! You too, dad! Sorry I kept you waiting. Where's Harry?"

"Still asleep!"

"Well, let's go wake him up," Hermione said excitedly, "it's his first proper Christmas."

"WHAT? Really?" Her dad asked loudly.

"Does his family not celebrate it?"

"Ummm… I'll explain it to you later," said Hermione as she started walking out before stopping at the bottom of the stairs and turning around to look into the confused faces of her parents.

"Yes?" Her mother asked after a few seconds.

"I'm just wondering whether it would be better to explain it to you now or if I should do it with Harry. Actually… Yes, why ruin the mood! We'll talk later." Hermione said before turning and starting to walk up again.

"Wait, wait, what?" Her wide-eyed mother asked.

"You can't leave us hanging like that."

"No, really, it'll ruin the mood. It's a serious talk. Let's do it tomorrow. Not today!"

"Are you two, like, boyfriend-girlfriend? That won't ruin the mood, honey."

"NO!" Hermione squealed, "Mother! I'm 12. And he's just 11."

"Seriously, woman!" Her dad said, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"But he's so cute. And so polite... But then, what is it?"

"We'll tell you later." Hermione answered decisively.

"Honey, the mood's already ruined. You should just tell us already," her father told her matter-of-factly.

Hermione sighed and then muttered, "Maybe I should. But I don't know."

"Just come on now Hermione. You have to tell us now."

"I know. I have to. It's really important. It's just… Okay, fine, come on and sit down."

"Are you as scared as I am?" Mr. Granger whispered to Mrs. Granger as they walked in front of Hermione back into the living room.

"More confused than scared," she answered, looking back at her daughter concernedly.

Sitting down on the little glass table in front of her parents, Hermione started, "Ok, you remember when I told you Harry's story? How his parents were killed when he was one but he was able to survive and hence saved the wizarding world?"

"Yes?"

"Well, after that, he was sent to live with his only living relatives, the Dursleys. His aunt Petunia was his mum's sister but wasn't magical; his mum was like me."

"Ok."

"But the thing is… She and her husband did know about magic but I don't know why, maybe they were jealous, or scared, but… I hate them so much."

"Hey it's ok, come here," her mother quickly said, getting up and grabbing Hermione in her arms, who had suddenly burst into tears. She looked back at her husband, who was sitting back in his seat, his mouth wide open in shock and his eyes shifting from Hermione's head to her mother's face.

"Did they hurt him?" She asked quietly.

"They kept him in a cupboard," she spoke into her mother's sweater.

"What?"

"What did she say?" Her dad asked her mum.

"Honey, could you say that again?"

Pulling her head back from her mother's sweater, Hermione told them in a clearer voice, "They have another son, Dudley. And they gave him two rooms. One just for his toys. And Harry," she snarled, "they put him in a cupboard."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Dad, his room was a cupboard. Like where you hang your clothes. And they were so horrible to him. Whenever he did anything weird, like I used to, but you didn't know what it was, even though they knew it was just his magic and he couldn't control him, they punished him. They kept him locked up in that cupboard and they didn't even give him any food. He had to sneak out just so he wouldn't starve and to go to the bathroom. I hate them so much."

"Honey…" her mother tried to console her but could just pat Hermione's hair as she stared speechlessly at her husband's equally shocked face.

"Are you sure, Hermione?"

"Dad, why would I lie about something like this? Oh, and no, there's no way Harry's lying. You should've heard him talk about it. He thought it was completely normal. He was telling me about this one thing, his hair is kind of magical. They can't be cut very short. So whenever he would get it cut short, it would get big again very quickly, so one time, his aunt just cut off all his hair. All of it, except just a tiny bit over the scar on his forehead. Can you believe that? Argh."

"Calm down, calm down, it's ok."

"And he thinks that's ok. Because it just grew back the next day because of his magic. But it's so not ok, right?"

"It's despicable, sweetie," her mother answered softly.

"But he's… He seems like such a great kid."

"He does, doesn't he? I couldn't believe it at first but dad, I really don't think he was lying. There's no way."

"Did he say anything about not telling us?"

"Listen, students can't stay at Hogwarts in the summer, I checked. So he would have to go back, and I told him that maybe he can stay here in the summer, so he said not to tell you because he doesn't want to be a burden, but he can stay, right? Please?"

"Of course, of course," her mother quickly answered making Hermione hug her again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Hermione squaled into her shoulder.

"But it's not as simple as that, honey, I mean, they are his guardians. They have the legal right to decide -"

"Chris! We'll figure something out," Mrs. Granger asserted, and then looking down into Hermione's eyes, she smiled and said, "we're so proud of you, honey. You're so brave for telling us."

"I'm not that brave, really. And are you sure he can stay? Because what if we say he can live here but then he can't?"

"Then we'll kidnap him from his home and his evil uncle and aunt will never find out where he is," her mother answered, getting a little chuckle out of her daughter.

"No, but seriously, we'll try our best, okay? I promise," she added, giving her husband a meaningful look.

"Yes, definitely," he quickly said, nodding furiously.

"Should we tell him?"

"Now?"

"Now that I think about it, it would probably be a great present for him."

"Um, I guess it would, but maybe you should wait for just a little bit while your dad and I work out the details about how we'll deal with his relatives, okay?"

"Oh! So you're not sure?"

"I am sure about wanting to let him stay, but honey, we need to spend some time thinking about exactly how to handle the situation. We'll research the situation, maybe talk to a social worker, and as soon as we're certain about the specifics, we'll tell him. Right?" She finished, looking at Hermione's dad.

"I think your mother's right, Hermione. We'll do it as soon as possible. But for now, let's wake him up and let's open the presents already lying there," he stood up and said, tilting his head towards the christmas tree in the corner.

"Fine!" Hermione said, sliding down through her mother's arms.

"Woah! Careful of the table. Okay, there you go. No wait, come here," her mum said, taking her hand and taking her into the bathroom.

After her mum had washed and dried her face, she quickly ran up the stairs and barged into Harry's room and jumped onto his bed.

"Harry!" She said, shaking his arm, sitting on the bed beside him. "Oi Harry Potter! Get up!"

"Huh?"

"It's CHRISTMAS!" She suddenly shouted.

"Ow!"

"Oh! Too loud? Sorry. But get up. Mum and dad are waiting for us. We have to open our presents," Hermione told him excitedly.

"Oh. Ok," said Harry, sitting up before forming a wide grin on his face, "Merry Christmas Hermione!"

"Merry Christmas to you too. Now hurry up and come down. Brush your teeth later," Hermione ordered before jumping back down the bed, almost slipping and falling, before running back down the stairs.

"He's awake, he's awake, he's awake," she announced to her parents whose discussion was interrupted by their daughter coming right up to them and whispering, "You promise he can stay here, right?"

As soon as she saw her mother started to nod, Hermione hollered, "Harry! What are you doing up there? Hurry up!"

"Hermione, you'll hurt our ears."

"Sorry," she apologized softly, before heading to the door and commenting, "where is he?"

"Jesus! What is happening to her?" Her dad muttered into her mother's ears, who laughed and answered, "Just be happy your little girl is as excited as you for Christmas for once."

"There you are. Come on."

"Ok. Good morning, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger. And Merry Christmas! Sorry I kept you waiting."

"Oh don't apologize, Harry."

"Yes, and Merry Christmas, honey!" Mrs. Granger said, getting up and then kneeling down to give him a hug.

Seeing his wide eyes, open mouth and unresponsive arms, Mr. Granger decided not to follow his wife, instead choosing to just ruffle his messy hair.

"Ummm…" Harry tried to speak, "hmmm…"

"Do you want to open your presents?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Yep!" Hermione said while Harry nodded, "come on Harry."

"Um, this one is for you, Mrs. Granger," said Harry, handing her a little round package.

"Oh thank you!"

"And Mr. Granger, here…"

"Harry, you didn't have to get something for both of us. But thanks!" He replied, looking down at the tiny package that was handed to him.

"Is this from you?" Hermione suddenly asked, holding up a book-like package.

"Well that one's from me to you, no, the little one on it's right, yep," she added after he nodded.

Seeing Hermione start to open up his present to her, he started to open the one she had given him.

"Ah! A chocolate frog! I get it," Harry stated after opening his gift.

"I knew you would. The Tales of Beedle the Bard! What's this?"

"The man at Flourish and Boots said it's a famous children's storybook."

"Oh wow. Thank you Harry."

"Oh oh! Open that one. I got mum to get you that."

"This?"

"Yep!"

"Final Fantasy 4. Thank you Harry! I didn't know you knew about these games."

"Uh, I don't, sir. But the man at the store in the mall said it was good. And I was hoping you didn't have this one."

"Heh, well, I don't. Thanks a lot, Harry. I've heard good things about this game."

Harry smiled widely in response before starting to open the present from Mrs. Granger.

"Oh! Lord of the Rings. Thanks Hermione. And thank you Mrs. Granger."

Hermione's mother was speechlessly staring at Harry's gift. "Are you seeing this?" She suddenly turned and asked her husband.

"Holy -"

"It's the milky way galaxy. I thought it looked good."

"Harry! This is absolutely gorgeous. But, but this must've cost so much. We can't take this."

"No, it was just 15 galleons, and the store owner even gave me a discount of 3 galleons more."

"Harry, that's a lot of money."

"I knew I shouldn't have left him alone in there," Mr. Granger commented.

"It's really no problem, Mrs. Granger. And you're letting me spend my Christmas in your house. It's nothing compared to that," Harry said, looking a bit warily at Hermione.

Mrs. Granger gave her husband an apprehensive look. "Just take it, honey," he whispered, "Harry! Don't buy us such expensive gifts in the future, okay? It makes us feel bad just taking them."

"But you like it, right?"

"Oh I love it, Harry. Thank you so much," Hermione's mum said, getting up and giving him another hug.

Harry grinned at Hermione afterwards and then began looking for Mr. Granger's gift for him.

"Who's this from?" Harry asked, picking up a parcel covered in thick brown paper. "Wow! Hermione, look, Hagrid sent me a gift. Is this a flute?"

"It looks like he made it himself," Hermione said, giving a tiny shiver when Harry played a note, "Weird! But how did he know you were here?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's some magical way to send letters."

"Uh, like owls? No, I mean, without addresses. And how would an owl put it here?"

"Mum, dad, did you put that there?"

"I didn't," Mrs. Granger said, looking at her husband.

"I didn't either."

"It must be some kind of magic. We'll ask him when we get back."

"Okay!"

"Who is Hagrid?"

"Oh! He's the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. He takes care of a lot of the wildlife in the vicinity and the keys and such. He's massive, like even bigger than Andre the Giant."

"Really?"

"Yes, but he's really sweet. He was even the one who took me to Diagon Alley for the first time."

"He lives in a little hut on the grounds with this boarhound named Fang, and he often invites us to tea."

"Huh!" Harry said after opening another little package addressed to him.

"We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia," Hermione read the note inside over his shoulder.

"Wow, I can't believe they sent something."

"But there's nothing inside," Hermione stated.

"No, look," said Harry, showing her the fifty-pence piece taped to the note.

"Is this a joke?" Mrs. Granger asked in an offended tone.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe."

"Do you think it's because they thought that you had no money?"

Harry shrugged and muttered, "It could be."

"But then how did you buy this?" Mr. Granger asked, pointing to the orb holding the little Milky Way Galaxy.

"Oh, my parents left me a trust fund account… Vault. I only found out this year. When I found out about Hogwarts. The Dursleys don't know about it."

"Is that because they might try to steal it?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Uh…" Harry whispered to Hermione, "did you tell them?"

"Yes!" said Hermione, and then turning to her parents, asked, "Can we tell him? Please?"

"Harry," Mrs. Granger said after a few seconds, putting a hand on his shoulder kneeling down to his level, " if you want, then you can stay here with us even in the summer. You don't have to go back to those horrible Dursleys."

"No, it's okay. I really don't want to be a burden to you. I told Hermione. It's not that bad anymore."

"Honey, you're not a burden. At all! And we can't let you go back to them. Did they really make you live in a cupboard?"

"Yes, but it was big enough. And now I have my own room. And I also have a wand. They don't even say anything to me anymore. Even Dudley won't try to hurt me now."

"But you can't do magic outside of school," Hermione's mum said.

"But they don't know that," Harry said cheekily.

"Harry, your mother went to Hogwarts. Your aunt will know."

"Oh! I didn't think about that. But I could just say the rules have changed now."

"What if they ask you to prove it? You said it yourself, they would punish you even more. Why don't you want to stay here?" Hermione countered.

"I do," he told Hermione and then looking at her mother, said, "I really do. You are all amazing. But I don't want to cause any problems for you."

Hermione and her mother both sighed in exasperation and her father told Harry, "Harry, just shut up. You're not causing us any problems, okay? If you do, I promise we'll send you back to the Dursleys. Is that cool?"

"Daddy, no!"

"He's kidding, sweetheart. But Harry, you're staying with us in the summer and that's final, okay?"

"Oh-kay." Harry sighed with a little laugh.

"We promise we'd find some way to get you away from those Dursleys. It won't be that hard."

"I could just send them a letter and tell them I'm staying at a friend's. I'm sure they would be very happy to hear that."

Hermione's mum and dad shared a weird look.

"Really?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I think so, yes."

"Oh!" Mrs. Granger said and then started to laugh, soon joined by Mr. Granger.

Harry looked back at Hermione before he was brought into another hug by her mother.

"Oh that's just great. We were going to talk to a social worker and try to adopt you but this is so much easier."

"You were going to adopt me?"

"Well, if we had to, yes. But this would work. You're sure it would work, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Awww... He called me mum," Mrs. Granger squealed, pulling him in for another hug.

"Uhhh, sweetie, he said ma'am."

"Ohhh! Right, sorry, got carried away, heh," Mrs. Granger said as she awkwardly backed away from Harry who also avoided her eyes, "well, you guys open your presents, I'll go get you some hot chocolate, ookay? Right! I'm such an idiot!"

"Well, um, let's move on," Mr. Granger said, rubbing his hands in an almost malevolent way as he came up to the Christmas tree.

"Eww," Hermione suddenly spoke, "look, Aunt Grace sent me a makeup kit."

"Ugh, doesn't she realize our princess doesn't need any makeup to look gorgeous?" Her father asked dramatically.

"Daddy!"

"What? It's true. … HOLY MOTHER OF - HARRY!"

Hermione gasped loudly as Mrs. Granger came running back into the living room and almost fell as she suddenly stopped on seeing Harry's floating head looking down into the empty space where his body should have been.

"Woahhh!" Harry breathed out in awe as he took off the cloak and his body reappeared.

"Oh thank god," Hermione's mum sighed and sat down with one hand above her heart.

"It's an invisibility cloak," Hermione said, coming up to hold it in her hands, "they're supposed to be incredibly rare."

"Where did you get that? Oh my god!" Mr. Granger asked with reverence.

Harry handed him the note that fell out of the cloak.

"It's your father's. Who sent it?"

"It didn't say."

"Give it to me, give it to me," Hermione's dad said, taking the cloak from Hermione and handing her the note.

"What do you think? Will it work on me?" Mr. Granger excitedly asked his wife who was thankfully over her little shock.

"Harry, do you know this handwriting?" Hermione asked Harry who shook his head, instead concentrating on Mr. Granger who was taking deep breaths before trying on the cloak.

"Alright, here we go. … Here. We. Go. 3, 2, 1, 0… Man, this is scary, ok, let's see," he said, closing his eyes and putting the cloak on with a twirl. "Did it work?"

"No!" He heard Harry say sadly.

"Ah man!" he complained before opening his eyes and seeing the silently laughing faces staring at the empty space underneath his head.

"Oh come here you little monster," he said, laughing and picking Harry up and spinning him around like a plane."

"Look, Hermione," Harry cried gleefully from the air, "no broom!"


	4. A Little Surprise

4\. A Little Surprise

* * *

"Ok, that didn't work," Mr. Granger said, looking at the partially visible shirt lying inside the invisibility cloak. "But as soon as I reach my hand inside it, there you go. I don't understand how this is working."

"Chris, it's a magical invisibility cloak. You're not going to understand how it's working."

"But still, I mean, is it based on body contact? What if you're wearing it and you jump and for a second, your body loses contact with it? Will it stop working then?"

"Do you two want some french toast?" Mrs. Granger asked Harry and Hermione.

"Yes, please," Hermione answered and Harry stood up and said, "I'll help you."

"Oh that's fine, honey. I can do it alone."

"It's not like we're doing anything here," Harry said with a shrug.

"You could watch TV."

"Why don't we watch Home Alone?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Is it good?"

"Good? It's great! Dad, where's the VHS? Dad?"

Mr. Granger looked up from the cloak, "Huh?"

"Home Alone? Where is it?"

"Oh! Uh, check the cupboard under the stairs. ... Actually, just switch on the TV. It has to be on on some channel."

"I'll just bring the tape," Hermione commented as she got up and went to look for the movie.

Meanwhile, Harry went into the kitchen to see what Mrs. Granger was up to.

"Oh hello," she said between cracking eggs.

"Can I help?"

"No, it's ok, Harry. Just go and watch the movie."

"No, we'll watch it with you."

"Oh I've already seen that movie, like, 5-6 times."

Harry shrugged and then seeing her smile, smiled back.

"Yes?" Mrs. Granger asked with another chuckle after a few seconds when he suddenly sprang up and exclaimed "Oh!".

"I know how I can help. Do you have some extra eggs?"

"Uh, yes, why?"

"I can make some hollandaise sauce."

"With french toast? You sure?"

"Yep!"

"Well, if you want to keep Hermione waiting," Mrs. Granger tried.

"Hermione," Harry shouted.

"Yes?" He heard back.

"Do you want to help us in the kitchen?" He asked in a normal voice after walking out to the hallway beside the stairs, finding Hermione searching a large box full of tapes.

"That's not what I meant," Mrs. Granger muttered to herself.

"Are you sure I can?" Hermione asked Harry.

Harry nodded, "I'm making some hollandaise sauce. Come on."

"In a minute."

"Alright, she'll help too," Harry said proudly, walking back into the kitchen.

* * *

"Here you go," Mrs. Granger said a few minutes later, sitting down beside her husband and handing him a plate of breakfast.

"French toast and scrambled eggs with? What is this?"

"Hollandaise sauce."

"So… Bread in eggs, with broken up eggs, with an egg sauce."

"Yep!" Mrs. Granger said with a nod, her eyes focused on the paused movie.

"... Is there eggnog?"

"Oh! Oh! Should I go make some?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"No no no, I'm just kidding."

"Aw! But I didn't get to make anything."

"You helped Harry with the hollandaise," Hermione's mum pointed out.

"I just brought him lemons. I didn't get to do anything."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," snarked Mr. Granger.

"It is. I wanted to help."

"But you did. You also scrambled the eggs," Harry consoled Hermione.

"That's not cooking."

"Well, if you're gonna be that picky..."

"I'm not being picky. I'm just saying -"

"You know what? You can help with lunch. Now let's start the movie."

* * *

"Can we watch Home Alone 2 now?"

"There's another one?" Harry asked with wide eyes, "Can we?"

Mr. Granger looked at the time and said, "Uh, how about some other time? We're about to have some guests."

"Uncle Dan?"

"Yes. And Aunt May… And they have a surprise for us… Well, for you really."

"What?"

"You'll see."

"What is it? Tell me."

"You'll find out."

"What? Did he get a new car?"

"Oh much bigger than that."

"A bus?"

"No, no, bigger, but much tinier."

"Huh?"

"You'll see. Now go take a bath."

"Do I have to?"

After taking a sniff of Hermione's hair, her mother said, "Well you don't have to, but you need to."

"Mummy!"

"I'm just playing with you, you little witch."

"And you, little wizard?"

After having watched the family interact for a while, Harry was a little surprised at being asked a question. "Huh? What?"

"Do you want to take a bath?"

Hermione's mum leaned over him to take a sniff of his hair, and said excitedly, "you smell like a baby."

"Really?" Mr. Granger said, as he took a turn. "Wow. You're right."

Hermione came over and reached up to try to smell his hair. "That's so weird. Why do you smell like that, Harry?"

Harry just looked at them in bewilderment.

* * *

"Can't I present it like it's just a technologically advanced thing?"

"It's a piece of cloth, dad."

"Yes, of a new compound named Glassene."

"How would a new material even let light pass through something that was inside it?" Hermione asked her father.

"Refraction?" He answered in a highly doubtful tone.

"Refraction? Somehow allowing the light to pass at exactly the opposite end in the same direction that it was following earlier?"

"It could work. Possibly."

"Your brother is not that stupid. You can't show it to him. Harry and I will get expelled."

"But why can't we just tell him about the whole thing then? They're family."

"You know the rules, dad. He doesn't need to know. So he can't. Besides, if you tell him and anyone finds out, they might alter his memory. You don't want that, do you?"

"No. But thing is, we can't even tell him about all the cool stuff at your school."

"I know. But the rules are there for a reason."

"And we can't tell them about quidditch."

"You still have football to discuss."

"We can't even tell them about how well our Mione's doing in all her subjects."

"Even you don't know about how I'm doing in my subjects. You don't even know what my subjects are."

"Yes I do."

"Really? What would you say is in Transfiguration?"

"Changing things from one to another. Duh."

"Potions?"

"Cooking + Chemistry. You told me that. Next?"

"What about Defence?"

"What Defence? Is that the subject's name?"

"No," answered Harry from behind Hermione, "it's Defence Against The Dark Arts."

"Well then… It's about how to defend… Against the dark arts."

"What are the dark arts?"

"The study of force chokes."

"What are those?" Harry asked.

"DUDE! You haven't seen Star Wars?"

"No?"

"Oh my flingin'-flangin' god. Well, that's it. I know what we're doing tonight."

"It's his favorite movie of all time," Hermione explained.

"And it's not yours?" Her dad asked quickly.

"It's good, but not as good as Princess Bride."

"Star Wars is not _as good_ as Princess Bride. It's a million times better."

"No it absolutely is not," Hermione responded calmly.

"Alright. A hundred times better, then."

"My name is Inigo Montoya," Hermione said in a bad spanish accent, getting up and pointing an imaginary sword at her dad, "you killed my father. Prepare to die."

"I know. I know. Great lines. But come on. Not Death Star levels of awesome."

"That was so silly. I mean, such a huge thing, and -"

"Aaa bbbaaa blah blah blah..." Hermione's dad interrupted loudly, "don't spoil it."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Anyway, where were we?"

"Invisibility Cloak," answered Harry.

"Oh yes. Thank you. You can't show it to Uncle Dan."

"Fine. You know, Mione, I miss having you as a normal kid. Don't get me wrong. I love you and am so proud of you and so amazed that your mother and I made a literally magic human. But I do miss being able to brag about my baby girl to the world."

"I think it's good. Maybe people will be less intimidated by me."

"People don't find you intimidating because of me. That is because you are intimidating. Harry, can you imagine being a 5 year old girl and playing with another girl's teddy and then having her lecture you for 10 minutes about how not to play with that other girl's teddy."

"Mr. Granger, I can't even think of imagining myself being a 5 year old girl. Or playing with another girl's teddy."

"Well, let me tell you, you would've cried your eyes out and then be terrified of that other girl for eternity."

"SHE WANTED TO PAINT HIM BLUE! Of course I told her off. Wouldn't you have, Harry?"

"I… Really don't know what to say."

"Hm. Well, anyway, I don't do that anymore."

"She doesn't?" Her father asked tentatively.

"Well, not for 10 minutes."

"When have I ever lectured you?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Not me. Ron! That was a good 3 minutes at least."

"He deserved so much more than that."

"What did he do?"

"He was accepting fights on Harry's behalf. That too at midnight in the trophy room. Wouldn't you say that he deserved a good shouting?"

"What do you say, Harry?"

"Oh he certainly did, but it was a bit intimidating, you have to admit."

"But what else could I have done?"

"You could've stopped after one minute," Harry said quietly before sprouting a grin, "I'm just kidding. It was wonderful."

"Oh I can hear the car. They're here, they're here… MUMMY!" As they walked toward the door, Hermione warned Harry, "Harry, whatever you do, don't tell Uncle Dan you haven't seen Star Wars. He'll make us watch it now."

"You're saying that like it's a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing," Hermione's mother chastised him, joining the others outside the front door as Dan opened the car door.

Harry stood in the doorway and watched as Hermione shrieked out, "Is that a baby?"

She ran to the car as her Aunt May carefully removed the sleeping baby from her seat and then the car. Kneeling down a little, she let Hermione have a closer look. "Hermione, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is your big sister."

"Aww… How old is she?"

"2 months."

"But… How? I saw you in August."

"Magic," said Dan, giving her a bear hug from behind, "and don't just ignore your uncle because you have a new sister."

"What? Really?"

"Well, the magic of adoption."

"Oh of course… Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"We couldn't think of a Christmas present for you. So we thought this would be a good surprise."

"It is. She's so pretty."

"That she is," Hermione's dad said as he came beside May and gave her a one armed hug. "Let's go inside, though."

"Is that Hermione's boyfriend?" Dan asked.

"He is not her boyfriend!" Chris responded quickly.

"Yet," his wife whispered to May.

"Harry, this is my brother, Dan, and this is May, and that little thing is Chloe."

"Hello, Mr. Granger. Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, Mrs. Granger."

"Merry Christmas to you as well, Harry. And to you too, Hermione."

"Oh yes. Merry Christmas, Aunt May, Uncle Dan. Sorry I forgot to wish you."

"No worries, Mione. So you two in Hogwarts together?"

"Yes sir," Harry answered, seeing that Hermione was too busy staring at the sleeping baby.

"Funny name for a school, isn't it?"

"It's… Well yes, it is."

"Where exactly is it?"

"It's somewhere in Scotland. Even I'm not sure where specifically."

"Oh ok."

"Hot chocolate?" Hermione's mother offered to Dan and May.

"Just water for me, please," May said.

"Oh I'll bring it," Hermione said, quickly getting up and running to the kitchen.

"How're you two holding up?" Chris asked the new parents.

"We just are, somehow. It's tiring, sure, but she's so worth it," Dan answered, staring at his daughter lovingly.

"You know you can ask us to help you out anytime, right? You don't _have_ to go without sleep everyday. You can take breaks," Chris told him.

"I know, I know. It's just… I know I haven't slept properly in nearly a month. But when I look at her, I don't wanna have her away from me."

"Ask us in the morning someday. We'll be sure to say yes then," May added with a chuckle, before handing Chloe carefully to Charlotte and taking a glass of water from Hermione.

"How's the mother?" Chris asked.

"She's alive?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes. She's doing well. She's back to studying. She does visit regularly, though."

"But then…?" Harry started to ask.

"Yes?"

"Are you wondering why she's with us, and not with her mother?"

Harry nodded in response to May's question.

"Well, her mother couldn't care for her. So she wanted to make sure that her daughter went to a home where she would be loved and taken care of. And… We couldn't have a child of our own. And thankfully, she picked us."

"Did… Did she not have any relatives she had to go to?"

"Well, if they had wanted, Chloe's grandparents could probably have raised her. But they didn't."

"So they gave her to you, and you love her. I didn't know that could happen. That's so wonderful," Harry said, looking at Chloe.

"Chris told us about your parents. We're so sorry."

"Oh it's ok."

After a few seconds of silence, Hermione asked, "Does she cry a lot?"

"Oh a LOT! That's pretty much all babies do. They eat, cry and sleep."

"Really? Was I like that too?" Hermione asked her parents.

"Oh you were a monster. We weren't allowed to put you down. Or you would start bawling. We had to carry you everywhere and all the time."

"The first word you ever said was Picku," Dan said.

"Followed by, 'or you'll be sorry,'" Chris added.

Harry joined the family in their laughter, thoroughly amused by the expressions on Hermione's face.

"Oh she's awake," Hermione's mum suddenly said, quickly leaning over to hand Chloe over to her mother.

"Hi there, peanut. Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Dan dramatically said, "And… Here… Come… The… Oh wow they don't. She's not crying."

"Look who it is, peanut. It's Auntie Charlotte. And here's your big sister."

"Hello, Chloe," Hermione said, softly touching Chloe's little hand with hers, "Merry Christmas."

"She's so pretty. Can I smell her?" Hermione asked her aunt a little shyly.

"Uh, yes of course. Careful. Slowly."

"Oh wow. Mama, you were right. Harry smells like a baby."


	5. Picking Sides

5\. Picking sides

* * *

"Do you have to go? Isn't there a distance learning program or something?" Hermione's mother asked her.

"No, mum, the school where we go to practice dangerous magic in supervision doesn't have a distance learning program."

"Why don't they make some teleportation magic?" Hermione's dad asked.

"That does exist. But it's not for us. And even if it was, they wouldn't allow it,"

"But that means that we have to spend months missing you. And now we're gonna miss Harry too."

"He didn't get to read even a single comic with me."

"I didn't make him tiramisu."

"I didn't show him Back To The Future."

"We didn't finish Fellowship of the Ring."

"I didn't show him Die Hard."

"Do you really have to go?"

"I didn't even show him Raiders of the Lost Ark!"

"Can't you take an extra week off or something?"

"There are probably more. But I just can't think of them right now."

"We'll keep Hedwig and Aragorn busy. I promise, mum."

"I know, but… We're gonna miss having you home."

"Well, in the summer, I'll come home for months."

"Ok good. And bring Harry."

"I will," Hermione promised with a nod and proceeded to hug her parents again.

"We love you so much," Hermione's dad told her, with a kiss on her head.

"And you, young man, we take you in, feed you, show you movies, and now we don't even get a goodbye hug?" Mrs. Granger asked grumpily.

Harry walked quickly towards her and she leaned down to give him a tight hug.

"Thank you," Harry told her quietly with his eyes tightly shut.

"Write to us, okay? About whatever you want, doesn't matter how boring. If you think you've got nothing to say, tell me about the best meals you had, or when those twins did another prank, or which class was the most boring, okay?"

"Yes, Mrs. Granger."

"You're such a wonderful kid," she told him with a soft smile.

Mr. Granger then gave him a little hug. "Alright buddy, we'll have a lot of fun in the summer, won't we?"

"Yes sir," Harry answered with a grin.

"Alright. Go Gryffindor!" Harry and Hermione's laughter disappeared as they went through the barrier to the platform.

"That is such a weird feeling, isn't it? Knowing they went through that barrier and yet, your mind doesn't register it."

"Oh who cares?" Charlotte replied, "Four months till easter. Four months until we get to see them again. Damn it."

"I know," said Chris, taking her hand, "I already miss them too."

* * *

"I love your parents."

"And they love you. I'm almost jealous."

"No, seriously," said Harry, sitting down opposite Hermione, "thank you so much Hermione! You don't know how happy you made me."

"Aww! You're welcome, Harry. And thank you for coming. These were the best holidays ever."

"I hope I get to see them again."

"What? You're coming back in summer. That's final. No need to hope."

"I just… It just feels so… It feels too good to be true, you know? I keep feeling like something bad will happen and then I won't be able to go with you."

"Whatever happens, mum and dad will find a way. I'm sure of it."

* * *

"It's a bit crazy, isn't it?" Mrs. Granger asked as she buckled her seat belt.

"What?"

"Harry. I mean, that we've only known him for 10 days?"

"I know what you mean."

"I'm a bit worried, though."

"About?"

"Summer. What if he's forced to go to his relatives?"

"We'll figure something out. Definitely."

"I was wondering if it would be a good idea to contact them."

"Really? Now?"

"Not right now. But soon!"

"What would we say?"

"Hello."

"Wonderful!" Mr. Granger said sarcastically.

"How are you?"

"Horrible."

"Oh no. What happened?"

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing, why?"

"What?"

"... What?"

"What's going on?"

"Who's talking?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mr. Dursley."

"I thought I was Mr. Dursley."

"Let's just practice when we get home," Mrs. Granger said with raised hands.

* * *

"So, does uncle Dan visit your family on all holidays?"

"Pretty much, his house isn't that far away. Sometimes my grandparents come as well. They might come during Easter."

"Where do they live?"

"Dad's parents live in France. Mum's parents died before I was born."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. What about yours? I mean, did the Dursleys ever tell you about -?"

Harry shook his head. "Never discussed it. The only other relative I know of is Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge. And she's even worse than him. But maybe the teachers at Hogwarts know my dad's parents. I mean, so many of them taught my parents, so maybe someone knew or knew of my grandparents."

"It could be."

"Oh look. There's Neville."

"Who is that?" Harry asked, looking at the eccentrically dressed woman with Neville.

"His grandmother, probably. I think I can see why he's so scared of her."

"I know, me too. Who are they talking to?"

"That's Hannah Abbott, she's in our year, Harry."

"Oh wow. Really? Oh, right, I remember her," Harry said after taking another look at the girl staring up in awe at the woman talking to her parents.

"What time is it?"

"Still... 4 minutes to go."

"... Do you… Want to… Read?"

Harry's face slowly grew a smile before he cheekily said, "No, I don't think so."

"Aww," Hermione complained, "but they're almost at the mines. Don't you want to know what happens?"

"I'm guessing they'll get in and then they'll get out."

"But what if they don't?" Hermione asked in a serious tone. "Come on c'mon c'mon, let's read. We can finish it by the time we reach Hogwarts."

"Haha, you're so impatient," Harry said with a laugh, getting up to take the The Fellowship of the Ring out of his trunk.

He went to sit right beside her and opened the book to the 'beep-beep' bookmark. "Alright, do you want me to read or will you?"

"You start. I'll read the next chapter."

"Ok. 'What are you going to do then?' asked Pippin, undaunted by wizard's brrristling brows. 'Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took,' said Gandalf," read Harry with a laugh, "'But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, i will seek for the opening words.'"

"You know, Hermione, I can totally imagine you saying that sometime in the future."

"I promise I won't use it on you. Can you imagine Dumbledore saying it though?"

"I don't think he's a big fan of sarcasm."

"Who knows? He might be. Anyway - 'I once knew -'"

Harry took over, "knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves -"

* * *

"- He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone," read Hermione, "and slid into the abyss. 'Fly, you fools!' he cried, and was gone."

"..."

Hermione continued, "The fires went out -"

"Wait, what? Did Gandalf just -? No, they can't do that."

"I know, Harry," said Hermione, squeezing his hand, seeing the shock in his eyes.

He looked up from the book and into her eyes, "he lives, right? He's hanging on to the wall or something, isn't he?"

Hermione looked away from his eyes and at the book. "I can't tell you. We have to read the book."

"No, tell me, I want to know. Please."

"No, you'll find out in the book."

"But I want to know. He was supposed to be so powerful. How will they ever make it without him?"

"Should I continue?" She asked cautiously after a few seconds.

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"The fires went out, and blank darkness fell. -"

"- At the top was a wide echoing passage. Along this they fled. Frodo heard Sam at his side weeping, and then he found himself was weeping as he ran. Doom, doom, -" Hermione stopped, sensing Harry raise a hand to his eyes.

"It's ok," she said softly, remembering how a similar scene had played out with her mother during her first time reading the book.

Emulating her mother, she reached out with her hand and slowly guided Harry's head onto her shoulder, and then rested her head on his.

"Sorry," Harry said in a muffled voice.

"It's ok."

"I hope no one saw that," Harry whispered after a few seconds.

"Well, Malfoy _was_ just standing outside, but I didn't want to say anything."

"What!" Harry quickly picked his head up and looked towards the doorway.

Hermione laughed and said, "he wasn't, I'm just kidding."

"Don't do that," Harry said, laying his head back down on her shoulder and looking at the book.

Hermione continued, "'Doom, doom, doom the drum-beats rolled behind, mournful now and slow; Doom!"

* * *

"Hey Neville, how are you?" Harry asked as he briefly turned in the train corridor and shook Neville's hand, carefully walking backwards for a few seconds.

"I'm good, good. How're you two?" He asked, waving at Hermione who waved back from in front of Harry.

"Great! How were your holidays?"

"They were okay. We go on the carriages today, right?"

"Do we?" Asked Harry.

"Grandma said so. She said to not walk in front of the carriages."

"Oh I didn't know about that. Did you?" Harry asked Hermione with a tap on her shoulder, who shook her head in response.

"Hey there cutie," Angelina Johnson said to Harry as soon as he was out of the train, giving his hair a quick ruffle.

Harry gave her a bright smile. "Hello there!"

"I thought you were staying back at Hogwarts."

"I was but Hermione invited me to her house."

"I didn't know we could invite you to our homes," Angelina told Harry, giving a wave to Hermione who briefly looked back at the two, "would've been fun having you around."

"Are you sure I would've survived living with you for a week?"

"Well, with me alone, you'd be safe. But since Alicia and Katie came over as well, yeah I'm not so sure."

"Where are they now?"

"Oh, they had boys to talk to. I figured I should pick one as well and here we are," said Angelina, putting an arm over Harry's shoulder.

"Oh! Thank you."

"So is this your first time in the horseless carriages?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"They're horseless?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, we're almost there. You'll see."

"But Neville's grandmother told him not to go in their front."

"Did she? Well, no, there's nothing in their front. She probably just meant a running one."

When they reached the carriages, Angelina pointed out, "See?"

"But then…" Hermione, with a serious look on her face, slowly walked towards the middle of two carriages, a hand raised in front of her. She suddenly gasped and jumped back, and then grew a grin on her face.

"See, they're not horseless carriages. They're just invisible," she said, reaching back towards the invisible things.

"Grandma said not to," Neville worriedly spoke from behind her.

"You're right. I shouldn't. But it's so amazing," Hermione said, looking towards the invisible space while walking towards the next carriage's door.

Angelina went over from Harry's side to try to feel the invisible things as well. "Don't bite me, don't bite me, don't bite - Oh wow! That really is cool. Pretty rough skin though."

Harry went and did the same thing for a few seconds as well before following the others into the carriage.

"Maybe they're thestrals," postulated Hermione.

"Oh yeah," Angelina said with a slow nod, "you're right. Could be."

"What are those?" asked Harry.

"They're a bit like flying horses, but only some people can see them," Hermione answered.

"Grubbly-Plank mentioned that Hagrid has trained some."

"Who's that?" Harry asked again.

"She's the Care of Magical Creatures professor. You'll study from her in third year."

"How'd you know they would be there?" Angelina asked.

"From what Neville's grandmother said. And Hogwarts, A History didn't mention horseless carriages, so I guessed."

"No one's ever mentioned them to me before. Hermione, I'm not sure. Have I ever mentioned that you're too smart?"

"That's not a bad thing, right?" Hermione asked shyly.

"Are you kidding me? I've always wanted a genius friend. The closest I've had are the twins, and their brilliance is outmatched by their madness."

"Really? They're smart? At studies, I mean?"

"Well… Not exactly at studies. I mean, in terms of marks. But they're utter geniuses in other ways. You should see the stuff they come up with, from tiny tiny things. Sure, they only use them the way they do, you know… But the pranking just drives them to be innovative. I'm pretty sure that's why McGonagall doesn't discourage them. And Flitwick just adores the two. Snape hates them, but… Well, I don't need to say anything about him to you, do I?"

"No. He's so unfair to our house," Hermione said.

"Not just the house thing. It's like he hates Fred and George with a passion. He takes points off them for anything he can, always trying to rile them up and make them do something he can give them a detention for."

"It's the same with Harry. He scolds Harry even if someone else," Hermione said, briefly looking at Neville who looked incredibly guilty, "makes a mistake. Not just you, Neville. You remember when he made Harry clean up the mess when Seamus blew up his cauldron."

"Yeah, I mean come on, even you think so. I really don't get why Dumbledore doesn't look for someone else for Potions. It's not like Defence where there are very few well qualified people to teach it. There must be tons of people who would love to teach Potions at Hogwarts, but... I don't really get it. I hear a lot of students have tried to talk to McGonagall about Snape, but she just says she can't do anything about it. It's so wrong."

"It is," Hermione agreed, while Harry and Neville both nodded.

"But still, make sure you guys study the subject. From books in the library, I mean. Just because we have a bad teacher doesn't mean the subject's not important."

"We do. We do," Hermione quickly said.

"I know you do," Angelina said matter-of-factly, "but what about these two?"

"Harry usually makes good potions, even if he gets marked badly for them. Neville… Neville, you can ask us for help. We'll help you."

"It's no use," he muttered in response, "I always forget some things."

"Listen," Angelina said, "you know what? Like, find someone good who's standing near you in class, let them start first, see what they're doing, check the instructions if it's right and then do it yourself."

"I don't know if he'll be able to focus on the other person and his potion that well," Hermione commented and Neville nodded.

"Well, it's what worked for some people in my class. At least try it. Or something else. Don't just give up. Potions are important for a lot of jobs later on. You don't want to give up on such an important subject so early on, right?"

"I guess," Neville said with a shrug.

"Yeah, you'll be fine. So… Anybody see the Puddlemere Appleby fiasco?"

* * *

"Do you think I should have a team?" Hermione asked Harry, who turned to her with a puzzled look on his face.

After swallowing his potatoes, he asked, "What?"

"I mean, everyone has a team. I don't really get why, but they do. Angelina likes the Holyhead Harpies. Neville likes the Wimbourne Wasps. And look at that Ron Weasley. He's always going on about the Chudley Cannons, who have apparently not won a single game in decades. And I don't know about the boys, but even Parvati and Lavender do have favorite teams and like it when they win a match, even though they don't shout about it. I don't remember which ones though. Anyway… Do you think I should have a team? Do you have a team?"

"I think you should eat," Harry answered, before proceeding to take a bite of his chicken before grinning and continuing, "And I don't know. I haven't ever seen any of them play properly."

"I think I'm going to support the Harpies," Hermione said with a thoughtful expression, "girl power, you know."

"Okay," Harry said with a shrug, "then should I support an all boys one?"

"No, no. You shouldn't choose like that. Just support whichever one you like the best."

"Well, I like… First of all, I like this chicken. Second, well, I like Puddlemere United's name. And Oliver Wood says they have a good training programme. But I don't know. I don't want to choose now."

"Okay. Well anyway," Hermione said with a smile, "whichever team you choose, I'm sure the Harpies will beat them."

"Oh no they won't. My team, as long as it isn't Chudley Cannons, are going to beat your discriminatory team."

"What? They're not discriminatory."

"Of course they are! They don't let boys join. How is that not discriminatory?"

"Well, uhhh. Hm…" She looked at Harry to see him laughing.

"See? So my team is automatically better, as long as it's not Chudley Cannons, or some other team who only has men."

"It doesn't matter. The girls will win."

"Hmmm," Harry ate another bite, "okay, let's see. Name one of them."

"Uhhh…" Hermione thought, joining Harry in his little laugh, before answering doubtfully, "Gwenog Jones?"

"Hahahaha! You knew one. One! And even her, you're not sure about."

"Don't worry! Tomorrow, I'll go to the library and find out everything about them. Then I would be a true fan."

"This is great." Harry put down his fork to have another laugh, "I'll join you. Maybe I'll find a favorite team as well."

"Fine. But know this. They'll lose to the Harpies," Hermione said, trying to hide a smile.

"What if I choose the Harpies too?"

"Well… No, you can't," Hermione said resolutely, "they're mine!"

Professor McGonagall gave the headmaster a little winning smile as once more, Harry's laugh filled the Great Hall.


End file.
